Context (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Context works a little differently in the poetry anthology section than it does in the Shakespeare, 19th-century novel, or modern texts sections of your exam. While it can be useful to think of the social, historical and political contexts of texts in those other sections, with poetry it is better to think of context as purely the ideas and perspectives presented in the individual poems, and the anthologies as a whole. Therefore, on this page we have included guides on the themes and ideas present in each of the anthologies, as well as a how-to guide when it comes to incorporating context into your exam essay:

• Power and Conflict context
• Love and Relationships context 
• What not to do when exploring context
• What to do when exploring context

Power and Conflict Context

The best way to gain marks for context is to understand both the ideas and perspectives of each of the individual poems in an anthology, and also what ideas and perspectives are shared by multiple poems in the anthologies. Therefore in this section, we will explore the ideas and perspectives across the Power and Conflict cluster of poems.

Power and Conflict Ideas and themes

1. Human power and corruption

• Many of the poems in the anthology explore the nature of human power
• Most of the poems explore negative aspects of human power:
• Power corrupting
• Negative Effects of institutional power
• Negative Effects of inherited power
• The oppression of people, or nature, by the powerful
• When considering the idea of human power contextually, think:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• The monarchy?
• Governments?
• Colonisation?
• Who in society wields power?
• The effects of power on those who hold it?

2. The power of nature

• The poems which explore the power of nature generally explore the power dynamic between human power and the power of nature
• This might be explored via ideas about:
• The impermanence of human power versus…
• The eternal power of nature
• Man’s attempt to exploit, or control, the power of nature
• When considering the idea of the power of nature contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• How humans should interact with nature?
• How is the powerful attempt to control nature?
• The fragility of human power?

3. War and conflict

• Many poems in the anthology consider both the reality and the effects, of war
• This can be seen in the following ideas:
• The horrors of war
• The relationship between propaganda and the reality of war
• The devastating after-effects of war
• Both psychological and physical
• These ideas are evident in poems both in poems set during and after (sometimes long after) conflicts
• When considering the idea of warfare contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Heroism and pride?
• Propaganda?
• The nature of warfare?
• Violence?
• Guilt?

4. Oppression and inequality

• Many of the poems in the anthology explore the idea of oppression (the cruel use of power over people or groups) and inequality (where some people have more rights, or higher status, than others)
• In the anthology, this is explored when:
• Those wielding power oppress those who don’t
• Institutions or organisations oppress groups of people
• Individuals oppress other individuals
• People are oppressed by their own thoughts and feelings
• Inequality based on:
• Gender
• Social class
• Wealth
• When considering the ideas of oppression and inequality contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Institutional power?
• Prejudice?
• Discrimination?
• Psychological oppression?
• Different interpretations of history?

5. Memory and loss

• Some of the anthology poems explore ideas around memory and loss
• This could be:
• The loss of life
• Including the loss of relationships that are yet to happen
• The loss of freedom
• The loss of a home, or homeland
• The memory of certain people being lost
• The conflict between childhood memories and adult understanding
• How memories can affect our mental health
• When considering the idea of memory and loss contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Death?
• The necessity of war?
• Grief?
• The reliability of memory?
• The emotional power of memory?
• Refugees and immigration?
• Human rights?

6. Identity

• A few poems consider the theme of identity
• This is explored in the ideas of:
• A person’s (changed) identity after the war
• A person’s identity in terms of their heritage
• A person’s identity as connected to a place
• Family identity
• When considering the idea of identity contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Colonialism?
• The after-effects of conflict?
• Human displacement?

Love and Relationships ideas and themes

1. Romantic love

• Many of the poems in the anthology explore the nature of romantic love
• Some of the poems explore positive romantic relationships, but most explore negative aspects of relationships:
• Unrequited love: love that is not returned
• Unhappy marriages
• Violence, or the threat of violence, in relationships
• Break-ups and the pain they cause
• When considering the idea of romantic love contextually, think:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Marriage?
• Romance?
• Gender dynamics within relationships?
• Failed romances or loss?

2. Family relationships

• Most of the poems in the cluster that touches on family relationships explore the idea of the bond between child and parent (or grandparent):
• This might be explored via ideas about:
• Independence of a child from their parent
• Rebellion against a parent, or family culture
• Admiration for a family member
• When considering the idea of family relationships contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Parents ‘letting go’ of their children?
• Generational divides?
• Understanding parental pressures?

3. Longing

• A few of the poems in the anthology touch on the idea of longing
• This could be:
• Longing for a relationship that has ended
• Longing for a more successful relationship
• Sexual desire
• This longing is evident in poems about both romantic and family relationships
• When considering the idea of longing contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Unsuccessful familial relationships?
• Unsuccessful romantic relationships?
• Fulfillment in relationships of any kind?
• The gender imbalance in relationships?
• Sex and consent?

4. Distance

• Some poems explore ideas around distance
• This could be:
• A growing distance between those in a relationship
• A growing distance between people after a relationship has ended
• A growing distance between parents and their children
• The distance time creates when thinking about relationships
• When considering the idea of distance contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• The point at which a child becomes independent of their parents?
• The nature of past romantic relationships?
• (Organised) marriage?
• Nostalgia?

5. Ageing and death

• A few poems consider the effect ageing, or dying, has on relationships
• This is explored in the ideas of:
• Coming to understand a relationship better over time
• Missing a loved one
• Longing for a relationship that can no longer exist
• Power in relationships
• When considering the idea of ageing and death contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Nostalgia?
• Loss?
• Power and control?

 6. Memory and reflection

• Many of the poems in the Love and Relationships cluster explore ideas around memory
• This is explored in the ideas of:
• Reflecting on past (bad) behaviour
• Reflecting on past relationships
• Memories of deceased family members
• When considering the idea of memory and reflection contextually, consider:
• Are the poets challenging contemporary, or universal, ideas about:
• Whether we can trust our memories?
• Nostalgia?
• The nature of children and parents?

• Do not “bolt-on” irrelevant biographical or historical facts to your paragraphs
• Do not see context as history:
  • It is better understood as ideas and perspectives
• Do not explore contextual factors in your essay if they are not:
  • Relevant to the ideas and themes of the poems in general
  • Relevant to the question you have been set
  • Relevant to the central thesis of your own argument 
• Do not only add context at the end of paragraphs, or in some set paragraph structure that includes context:
  • It is much better to incorporate contextual understanding into your argument, or into your analysis of a poet’s methods
• Do not include the formulation “a reader would feel”
  • Think more about what these ideas and messages say about human nature or society in general
• Do not include interpretations of the text based on literary theory (for example Marxist, feminist, Freudian and Nietzschean theories):
• • These do not contribute to your own interpretation of the text!

• Ensure all your exploration of context is linked to:
• The themes and ideas the poets are exploring in their poems
• The themes and ideas present in the anthology
• The question you have been set
• Your own argument
• Understand your texts back-to-front
• Because the context for the poetry anthology question is directly linked to the ideas and meanings of the poems, the very best thing you can achieve high context marks is to ‘know’ the poems very well
• Answer the question
• Again, because context is linked to ideas and themes, simply answering the question - rather than answering a question you wish you’d been set - will by itself increase your marks for AO3
• Understand that context is about understanding ideas and perspectives
• Think: what is the poet trying to say about love or power?
• What is the poet’s view about love or power, and does that differ from society’s view?
• Is the poet challenging their society, or the reader, on their own ideas about love, or power?
• Some of these ideas are universal, which means that we don’t just need to think from the perspective of a contemporary reader:
• What are your own views on these themes or ideas?
• What do you think these poems are trying to say on a more general level?